Mouclade

If you want something done, then you'll always have to do it yourself!

A friend of mine who happens to be an excellent chef used to make this wonderful mouclade at a restaurant I used to go to many years ago. When I decided to move to the Netherlands I said I had to have two of his recipes. One was the fish soup recipe which I shared with you some time ago and the other was his mouclade. The mouclade recipe never materialized so when I fancied doing something different with mussels recently I decided to come up with my own version. This serves two very greedy people or 4 not so greedy.2kg mussels2 shallots finely chopped3 cloves garlic finely chopped50ml brandy100ml creme fraiche250ml white wine1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds roasted and roughly groundJuice of half a lemon1 tablespoon madras curry powderCoriander leaves roughly chopped to garnish20g butter to fry off the shallots and garlic20g butter to enrich the sauceWhen preparing mussels always check them before cooking. Any opened mussels that will not close when tapped should be thrown away, similarly those with broken shells. When you have cooked them, if any have not opened discard those as well.In a large saucepan fry the shallots and garlic on a low heat until soft and translucentAdd the brandy and wine and reduce on a medium heat by halfNext add the madras powder and the cumin and cook out for one minuteThrow in the mussels and place a lid on the pan, cook for 7-10 minutes or until all the mussels have openedDrain the mussel juice into a bowl using a sieve and place the mussels to one sidePlace the cooking juices back into the pan and on a low heat stir through the creme fraicheReduce the sauce till it has thickenedAdd the lemon juice and butter to finish the saucePlace the mussels and the sauce in a serving bowl garnish with the coriander.I like to serve this with some crusty bread.